Romanian puppet theatre established in 1952 in Galați, first directed by Ion Focșăneanu, followed by Dan Andrei and Dumitrița Lungu. After 1995, the theatre was renamed Teatrul de păpuși Gulliver (Gulliver Puppet Theatre). The theatre designer Mircea Nicolau worked there from 1968 to 1986, designing over one hundred shows and receiving numerous awards.

Among the many productions directed by Traian Ghițescu-Ciurea between 1970 and 1979 were: Turandot (1972) after Carlo Gozzi, in which the director integrated Indonesian wayang with masks and costumes of the Italian commedia dell’arte; and Prometeu (Prometheus, 1973), created on a historically inspired design. Both productions were presented at the Festival of Lublin in Poland in 1973 and again in 1975 at the PIF (Pupteatra Internacia Festivalo) in Zagreb.

During the time that Marcel Ionescu was director of Gulliver Puppet Theatre (1981-1985), the director Cristian Pepino worked there, producing six shows with designs by Mircea Nicolau. Among these were: Sânziana și Pepelea (Sanziana and Pepelea, 1982) by Vasile Alecsandri, which received the Special Jury Award at the PIF; Trandafirul și inelul (The Rose and the Ring, 1985); and Harap Alb (1988),  after Ion Creangă.

Between 1986 and 1995, the theatre’s artistic director and producer Dan Ganea staged a number of shows, including Turandot (1972) and Făt Frumos din lacrimă (Prince Charming Born of Tears, 1992) by Mihai Eminescu. He also established the Gulliver Festival, one of the most important festivals in Romania.

Since 1995, the actor Stelian Stancu has been the artistic director of Gulliver. With support from writer, critic and theatre historian, Mircea Ghiţulescu (1945-2010), Stelian Stancu transformed the event into an international festival.

(See Romania.)